Surat, Jan 13 (IANS): In a novel case of life imitating art, a young mother in Surat, Gujarat, committed a murder and then tried to evade arrest by following the plot of the blockbuster crime thriller 'Drishyam'.

However, in a grim reminder of the old adage “crime does not pay” the Surat Police cracked the case and arrested 22-year-old Nayna Mandavi for the murder of her two-year-old son, Veer Mandavi.

This case that came to light in July 2023, laid bare the dark underbelly of a society where even parents can turn into cold-blooded killers.

The tale began to unfold when Nayna, a labourer at a construction site in Dindoli in Surat, filed a kidnapping report at the local police station on June 27.

Claiming that her child had disappeared, she joined the police in a seemingly earnest search for her "missing" son.

For three days, the hunt continued, with no trace of Veer. The police, after examining CCTV footage from Nayna's workplace, found no evidence of Veer leaving the premises. This cast doubt on Nayna's kidnapping claim.

As the suspicion of the cops grew, Nayna's story unraveled under intense questioning. Her attempts to deflect blame onto a lover in Jharkhand, who denied any involvement or presence in Surat, further weakened her narrative.

Faced with mounting evidence against her, Nayna confessed to the crime. However, she led the police on a wild goose chase, initially claiming to have buried the body in a pit and then alleging she had disposed it in a pond. However, both leads turned out to be dead ends.

Finally, under intense interrogation, Nayna revealed the grim reality: She had disposed of her son's body in a pit intended for the construction site's toilet.

The recovery of Veer's body from this location corroborated her confession and sealed her fate.

It turned out that Nayna was desperate for acceptance from her lover in Jharkhand, who had refused to accept her with Veer. Unable to convince him otherwise she chose the path of brutality and killed her child.

Taking guidance from the crime thriller 'Drishyam', Nayna believed she could evade detection and arrest by following the modus operandi used by the protagonist in the movie to dispose the body and cover up the crime.

Nayna Mandavi's story is a grim reminder of the "monsters within" – individuals who defy the natural order of parental love and turn into killers instead of protectors and nurturers.